The present invention relates to food products and their methods of preparation. More particularly the present invention relates to a method for the addition of chocolate pieces or other confectionery pieces in cultured milk based products and products prepared thereby. More particularly, the invention provides methods of preparing stirred style yogurt products containing chocolate pieces and other confectionery pieces dispersible within the yogurt.
Yogurt has continued to increase in popularity. Consumer appeal has expanded its use from plain, flavored, and fruit-filled yogurt consumed for health purposes, to consumption of yogurt as a satisfying dessert.
The present invention satisfies the consumer desire to have both a healthful product and a product with a dessert appeal. Furthermore, the present invention is found appealing to old and young alike.
There have been many attempts to produce a chocolate yogurt with consumer appeal. These efforts have been hampered as a result of the characteristic tartness of yogurt having an undesirable flavor impact on chocolate. Typically highly acidic products, such as yogurt that has a pH of less than 4.6, negatively impact consumer acceptability when consumed with flavors that are delivered via a neutral or alkaline media (e.g., chocolate, caramel, dulche de leche).
A variety of yogurt-type products containing chocolate have been produced that attempt to please the consumer palate while providing a healthful, desirable dessert. For example, a number of commercial chocolate yogurt products employ a compartmentalized package containing a yogurt in one compartment and a chocolate syrup, chocolate pudding, or chocolate powder in another as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,865, Lee, et al., “Chocolate yogurt and preparation”. The yogurt and chocolate components are blended just prior to consumption.
Other commercial products have a high starch and sugar content to address the tart flavor associated with yogurt, the products however have been heat treated to sterilize the chocolate and yogurt thus killing the live and active cultures.
The present invention comprises a yogurt containing live and active cultures with confectionery pieces dispersed within the yogurt. The consumer finds appeal in the present invention anticipating a tart flavored yogurt with bits of a sweet chocolate dispersed therein.
Chocolate and other confectionery pieces have been dispersed within other dairy based products (e.g. ice cream) for a number of years. Dispersion of confectionery pieces in ice cream has been easily accomplished due to the products frozen state; additionally the ice cream has a sweet taste and a pH more compatible with alkaline and neutral pH flavors such as chocolate. As illustrative, Publication No. RU 2088102 C1, Rudenko et al. entitled “Ice Cream and Method of Preparing Same” provides a method for the addition of irregular-shaped chocolate flakes in ice cream. The method involves preparing a mixture of ice cream components, freezing the mixture to −8° C. to −9° C. with simultaneous addition of liquid chocolate to the mixture, mixing the components and whipping for 2 to 6 minutes to form chocolate flakes. The chocolate is at a temperature of 56° C. to 60° C. when it is added to the mixture in an amount of 6.5% to 8.5% by mass of the finished product.
In another dairy based example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,913, Grassler, et al. entitled “Preparation of mousse containing sterilized chocolate pieces” a composite product of a milk-based mousse and chocolate product pieces is disclosed. In the example, a chocolate product of a fat, cocoa butter and sugar in amounts, by weight, of from 50% to 70% fat, of from 30% to 50% cocoa powder and of from 1% to 10% sugar, is sterilized and a milk-based mixture, which is suitable for being overrun and preparing a mousse, also is sterilized, the sterilized mixture is overrun to obtain the mousse, and the sterilized chocolate product is delivered to and combined with the mousse so that the mousse contains pieces of the sterilized chocolate product therein, such that the pieces are in an amount of between 2% and 10% by weight, the composite product so obtained is introduced into containers refrigerated.